I feel sorry for daily commuters through US 1 in Wiscasset. Recently, it took me an hour to cover the 7.7-mile distance from Damariscotta to Wiscasset, due to the daily 2-mile backup.

Other than time wasted (an extra hour to reach the Portland airport!), here are some numbers to consider: With a typical car length of 15 feet, plus a car-to-car distance of 12 feet — i.e., 27 feet per backed up car — there are 391 cars idling in a 2-mile backup, each wasting up to 0.5 gallons of gasoline per hour. That comes to 195.5 gallons, which at $3.09 per gallon, comes to $604 per day, or $18,123 per month. But, with a 2-mile backup approaching Wiscasset from both directions, that’s $1,208 per day, or $36,246 per month. This is not counting trucks, which consume 0.5 to 1 gallon each of diesel per hour of idling ($2-$4) depending on their size and weight.

Sheer waste! Some $40,000 per month for at least four months per year — $160,000 per year — plus, lesser amounts with each smaller backup. Also, 30 seconds of idling per car emits harmful 0.3 mg nitrogen oxides and 3.2 mg carbon mono- and dioxides, i.e., 0.845 kg NOx plus 9.01 kg CO per 391 cars stuck in a 2-mile backup.

Wiscasset, with no US 1 bypass, recently got two traffic lights added to the one at Route 27 North, making the backups worse, not better. Red’s Eats is a primary culprit. It collects pedestrian traffic across US 1. Absent an overpass like one in Bath, financed by what we’d all save, it could be moved to Water Street — had public interest trumping private interest still mattered.

Paul Kando
Damariscotta